“I was merely returning the same words that His Majesty the Emperor said to me, so I thought you would appreciate it…”

“Yo-you and I are different! I am the Emperor!”

Judging from his stumbling words, it seemed that even he realized that his logic was absurd. I tried my best to hide my rising laughter and continued with my innocent act.

“Ah, so, Your Majesty’s words mean something like this, right? The Emperor can have relationships with twenty-two women and destroy other people’s families, but others can’t?”

“That’s true, but… somehow, it sounded strange. It makes me feel like I’m a scum.”

‘A scum.’

It seemed like he didn’t want to admit that he was a scum when it came to engaging in such immoral acts?

“I want to understand Your Majesty’s intentions correctly, that’s why I asked. Anyway, Your Majesty’s intentions are just as I mentioned earlier, right?”

“…Well, yes.”

“The Emperor can have relationships with twenty-two women and destroy other people’s families, but others can’t. No one has ever told me such things, so I didn’t know. There might be others like me—”

I took out the recording device that had been operating inside my sleeve. After all, people always need to be thorough with these things.

“I should spread Your Majesty’s words to the people.”

“What? Are you crazy?! Hand that over right now!”

The pensive Emperor made a sudden grab for the recording device in my hand.

Regardless, having endured my family’s persecution for a daunting three years, I had become skilled at evading the predictable actions of the Emperor, who was consumed by his pursuit of women while confined within the palace walls.

“Why are you acting like this? Is there a reason why this shouldn’t be spread?”

“If it spreads, I’ll become a scum!! Hand it over right now!”

The Emperor, who viewed himself as an omnipotent figure, held a deep fear of one entity—the people. In the early days of Gerard’s reign, an enraged crowd, driven by their anger towards his tyranny, had once bombarded him with rotten eggs during a protest.

Ever since then, the Emperor became fixated on upholding the image of an exemplary ruler, at least outwardly. However, beneath the facade, he lacked genuine human qualities. Given his nature, the most effective method of exerting pressure on him was by leveraging the power of the people.

“…Fine. I surrender.”

The Emperor gave up on trying to take the recording device from me and obediently lowered his head.

“I won’t make any more fuss about you divorcing my brother in the future, so just give me that device.”

“Here you go.”

I willingly handed over the recording device to the Emperor, who quickly snatched it, fearing that I might change my mind.

“How dare you underestimate me. I won’t forget today’s disgrace, Irovel. Someday, you will kneel before me and beg for my love.”

The Emperor, who had just claimed to surrender, swiftly changed his attitude and left with his knights, leaving behind those words.

“Um… Madam, why did you hand over the device? Did you not anticipate the Emperor’s sudden change in attitude?”

As the Emperor completely disappeared from sight, Jade approached and whispered to me.

“It’s fine.”

Saying so, I smiled inwardly and pulled out the ‘real’ recording device from the inside of my opposite sleeve.

“It’s just a fake anyway.”

As the final night of the Emperor’s birthday celebration arrived, Reinhardt, who had traveled from the northern region to join the festivities, prepared to depart the following day.

“You’ve worked hard for the past three days, Your Excellency.”

Despite intentionally avoiding encounters with him, I approached him to offer my greetings upon his return from the birthday celebration. He looked at me with an incredulous expression before quickly rushing toward me.

“Is it okay for you to look at my face directly?”

“It’s fine. I’m just looking at your nostrils.”

Let’s refrain from saying embarrassing things such as, ‘In fact, even your nostrils look great…’

“That’s a relief. I was about to go see the lady though it’s a good thing it worked out.”

“Now that I’m no longer the lady, just call me by my name. What’s the matter?”

“Well… I was going to see you as the lady, but now that things have changed.”

“Since I can’t keep addressing my husband as Your Excellency, I’ll just call you by your name. Is that okay, Reinhardt? Oh, well, we won’t have many occasions to meet anyway.”

“….”

For some reason, Reinhardt seemed a bit stiff. Still, as if it were my imagination, a very brief silence passed, and he revealed the purpose of seeking me out.

“I’m planning to leave for the north tomorrow, so you’ll have to fulfill your promise to let me draw you.”

“At this late hour?”

“Well… It won’t take long, and is it difficult for you?”

“No, it’s not. I was just wondering if there would be enough time to complete the picture.”

“We won’t be finishing it today. You’ll understand the reason once you come with me.”

“Alright, please guide me.”

As soon as I finished speaking, Reinhardt took the lead and began to walk. Following him, we entered the mansion and descended a staircase that led us to an unfamiliar underground section.

Navigating through a dimly lit corridor, we eventually arrived at a small room.

“Would you please take a look at this?”

Reinhardt, who had entered the room, showed me something that looked familiar. It was a rectangular device with a circular, flat protrusion… resembling a camera.

“It’s called ‘Capture,’ a magical device that permanently records things in the form of objects.”

Wow, it was really a camera. Now, I understood why he said we wouldn’t be finishing the picture today. He would take a picture in advance and planned to complete the painting in the north.

“But since you have a camera, is there a need to draw?”

“The photos only come out in black and white. To capture the color of your hair, which has an effect on the Tartars, black and white photos won’t do.”

Ah, I remembered that setting. It had been so long since I read it that I had forgotten about it.

“Would you please sit here and release the magic?”

I sat on the large white cloth-covered chair that Reinhardt pointed to and released the magic from the ring. Soon, my dark brown hair revealed its original pink color. Without hesitation, Reinhardt pressed the button of the ‘Capture.’

Click.

A blinding light burst forth.

‘It’s just like a camera.’

“Did you capture it?”

“…Yes.”

For some reason, Reinhardt replied after a moment of silence. He tilted his head as if something didn’t please him. Did the photo not turn out well?

“I’ll take another one.”

“Yes!”

‘The camera here may not have good image quality, so the picture might come out blurry. I should make a more distinct expression.’

The flash went off once again, and I stared at the camera without blinking. Thinking of it as a camera from my original world made it feel much easier though Reinhardt’s expression still didn’t seem satisfied.

After hesitating for a while, he opened his mouth with trembling eyes.

“Why… do you keep changing your expression and smiling?”

“…Did I do that?”

“Yes.”

Ah, so that was why my expression felt strange to him. What was I thinking?

“I’m sorry, it must be a professional habit that I’m not aware of.”

“A professional habit? Are there professions where you have to smile in front of a camera?”

Yes, there were. Like being an idol…

It was my original profession in my original world.

‘Still, I can’t say that.’

Since there was no concept of idols in this world, if I talked about it, I’d just be treated like a crazy person.

‘What should I say?’

It seemed that I’ve made a mistake. I shouldn’t have mentioned it as a professional habit.

“Well… I won’t do it anymore. Just take another picture, please.”

Unable to come up with any excuses, I simply redirected the conversation. Fortunately, Reinhardt didn’t press further and quietly pressed the button on the ‘Capture’ once again.

…Or so I thought.

“When did you become like this…”

Once again, Reinhardt’s eyes trembled.

“Yes?”

“Never mind…”

Huh? Why did he stop talking?

‘…When did Irovel become so beautiful?’

“Your Excellency! Something big has happened. It seems that His Majesty the Emperor is truly furious!”

…Jade’s voice didn’t reach Reinhardt.

Uncharacteristically, he was captivated by his own thoughts. The scene of her small and delicate face bursting into a dazzling smile, with her eyes folding softly as if knowing the most beautiful angle. The slightly tilted nose and the slow blinking of her eyes.

With each press of the ‘Capture’ button, her expressions and poses changed differently every time.

“Since I can’t keep addressing my husband as Your Excellency, I’ll just call you by your name. Is that okay, Reinhardt? Oh, well, we won’t have many occasions to meet anyway.”

The soft and pleasant voice that came with the gentle spring breeze.

All of these things were somehow a shock to him.